Cry
by Dusked
Summary: A husband and wife spend their last night alive with their son. One-shot. Jily.


_I promised a Lily/James fic quite some time ago, and here it is. Hope you guys like it. _

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**_Cry_**

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Lily Potter had never been one to cry. No, she – and many others – found she hardly cried at anything. The only things she could recall letting her water works burst were when she graduated from Hogwarts, married the love of her life, and gave birth to her son.

Now, another item would be added to the list, as she observed the scene before her through the narrow crack in the door of her son's bedroom. James sat in the corner armchair with Harry snuggled up against his chest, staring up with wide, awed eyes whilst he listened to his father rattle on about the Marauders' tales back to the days of school life.

It was hard to pin the reason why she was crying at something she'd viewed plenty of times, but she was always reminded of the time James made the declaration that he didn't think he'd suit fatherhood, and that he wouldn't be able to handle the responsibility. Lily could confidently say that now he could dismiss those words.

Not wanting to cause a fuss, she hastily swiped at her eyes and put a smile on her face. "Darling, as much as Harry and I adore your stories, don't you think it would be better if you were to tell them when it's not past his bedtime?"

Upon her voice, James flinched; it saddened her that he was actually afraid of her, although she knew he hadn't known it was her who'd interrupted, for some reason it still hurt.

That was what it consisted of now, warped with fear that You-Know-Who could be standing behind you; nowadays the fear was unconscious, only triggered into the open from the slightest noise or shift that could provoke a heart attack. James glanced up at Lily, and relaxed back partially with an unsteady sigh, inhaling heavily through his nose to ease his heart rate to borderline safe. "I'm sorry, Lils, it's just, you know, he's –" He looked back down at Harry and stroked his rosy cheek, lost for words.

"Ours?"

"Yeah," he managed in a quiet voice, still overwhelmed with the fact he – James Potter – had a son, and he was a father. Even after a year, the days still felt like the first. But then he swallowed, suddenly overcome with a terrible thought. "Do…do you think we'll be able to watch him grow up?"

She'd never been so scared in her life; this feeling of dread gnawing at her stomach each morning and evening. She was sure James felt the same – and the worst part was that it wasn't just a momentary beat of fear, like when you miss a step on a staircase and manage to catch yourself in time. No, this was a constant cycle.

Of course, fake smiles would need to be plastered on their faces for the sake of their son; he was oblivious, after all, barely twelve months old.

She kept the smile encouraging, walking over to him and threading her fingers through his messy hair. Who was she kidding? She couldn't lie, no matter how bad the news was. "I don't know, sweetheart. We'll just have to hope."

He nodded and returned his attention to Harry, who was patting his cheek and babbling happily. She stole a look at James, who was blinking rapidly, and continually adjusting his glasses, as if trying to conceal the fact he was on the edge of crying; Lily had already seen.

Gently cupping his chin, she lifted it up. "I know you're scared, James. I am, too." She pressed a lingering kiss to his lips, and rested her forehead against his when they parted. "But we need to be strong, for Harry, okay?"

She felt him nod, and then felt a tiny hand pat her cheek. Laughing, she inclined her head to look at her son, whom was looking up at the pair curiously, his glittering, emerald eyes darting between the two. She took him from James's grasp. "And you, my beautiful boy, are going to grow up to be a brilliant wizard."

As Harry giggled gleefully when he was lifted into the air, a knock at the door sounded. She looked at James with uncertainty; he matched her expression, but nonetheless, he pressed a gentle kiss to her worried brow and said in a sudden hoarse voice, "I'll go."

The unsettling knot in her stomach worsened as he left the room, and she peppered chaste kisses to Harry's forehead, gently bouncing him on her hip. She waited, and waited, and waited –

There was a sudden crash.

She heard the desperate call from James. "_Lily_!"

Before she could call back, or even run to him, there was a horrible cackling laugh, the sound of footsteps and then a blinding flash of green light.

There wasn't enough time to react before the footsteps started again, this time louder as they drew closer, and she soothed her son as he began to wail, her own tears falling from her eyes, and she braced herself as the sound outside suddenly went still.

She counted her heartbeats.

One. Two. Three. Four…

She took a shuddering breath as the lock clicked and the door was thrown open, the tendrils of her hair whipping her face from the unusual billow of wind. She closed her eyes, curling her body around the small, frail form of Harry in attempt to act as a protective wall. Unfortunately, she knew her vain defence wouldn't hold off for long.

She shoved the bile down her throat when she heard the gut-retching hiss of his voice. "Lily, is it?"

She tightened her hold around Harry, but only responded with a silent whimper. A final image of James flashed in her mind.

"Not going to speak?" Aside from the floorboard creaking, the intruder himself didn't make a sound; he was silent, gliding along with little effort in his steps. "Never mind. What happens now doesn't require much talking."

The only sounds that followed were a mother's blood-curdling screams while her son's destroyed cries echoed through the house as he watched on.

…

Lily Potter had never been one to cry. No, she – and many others – found she hardly cried at anything. The only things she could recall letting the water works burst were when she graduated from Hogwarts, married the love of her life, gave birth to her son, and watched James hold him.

Another would be added to the list.

And that was her death, being forced to leave Harry behind.


End file.
